What is the difference between "pelota" "balón" and "bola"?

Question

I know they all mean "ball" but is there a difference between la pelota, el balón and la bola or are they interchangleable?

Answer 1

A friend of mine from Cordoba, Spain, once confessed to me that the "pelota/balón/bola" quandary is puzzling even to some Spanish speakers. He said that a good rule of thumb is that a "balón" is made of leather, a "pelota" is inflatable and a "bola" is neither. He also indicated that the distinctions are very fuzzy and totally dependent on geographical usage. I know this doesn't specifically answer your question, but it at least verifies your confusion!

Answer 2

Thank you, that helps!

Answer 3

I found this on wikipedia

Una pelota o balón es una bola elástica utilizada esencialmente en deportes y otros juegos. Las pelotas normalmente son esféricas, pero pueden poseer otras formas, como las pelotas de rugby. En la actualidad las pelotas de muchos deportes son infladas con aire, por lo que son también muy livianas en relación a su tamaño.